


Living throughout the Consequences

by Fracta_Umbra



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe - Swapfell, Alternate Universe - Underfell, Alternate Universe - Underswap, Angst, Childhood Trauma, Depression, Developing Relationship, Every Sans have 1 HP, Exploration of Emotions, Fluff, Guilt, M/M, Night Terrors, Plot, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Trauma, Self Harm, Sexual Content, Sibling Incest, Slow Build, Soul Sex, Suicide Attempt, Violence, self hatred, slow romance and sexual exploration, soul mates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-29
Updated: 2016-10-04
Packaged: 2018-08-18 13:19:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8163382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fracta_Umbra/pseuds/Fracta_Umbra
Summary: For every action, there is a response. For every opportunity, there is a chance. For every decision, there is a consequence. No matter what you do or when, you will have to live with the results of your choices. The ones that happened to remember after each reset knew very well about this. Destiny is a twisted concept that constantly tossed jokes into their lives, playing every fraction of second about their every move for a specific conclusion. Could it be bent so the path would be different, or the results would always stay the same at the end? Was destiny really something that they could never change or they could rewrite their future with every trial and error? The game could go on forever.
But what if suddenly the resets stopped and they just had one last chance to do it right? To make their permanent choice without allowance of a restart?
Will the outcome to the events lead to a different end, or will destiny twist back again to repeat the final results it should perpetually remain untouched?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first fanfiction about Undertale. Since my native language is not English, i hope the story can still get your attention, even with some of my mistakes! I'm still not sure how long this fic will be, it will mostly depend on the outcome from the readers. Let me know if you want this to be continued. Thank you for choosing to read this!  
> Please, enjoy!

His gaze wavered. He knew the nervousness was, slowly, taking control and messing up with his concentration. Blueberry shifted in place while the fog would leisurely break and reveal more than just a simple, childish shadow. Those eyes carried a twisted glow of glee; a wide smile, like anticipating the excitements of the chosen actions to be taken. For the child, the result was simply glorious, no matter how fast the cut would follow with a beautiful explosion of white dust. The victory would be felt in a shower of thin powder, covering the surface of their skin; the breeze kissing each pore and swaying the previously brown hair like a death’s veil. It would be breathtaking. 

“Human!”, the small skeleton extended his arm to command the child to halt their moving, keeping nervous stillness due to his quaking soul. 

He knew something was off. 

He knew the situation demanded caution. 

Humans were known to be ruthless and merciless. Though he believed a child could learn about goodness and choose a different path if shown the right choices. However, the child must accept to follow that path. Blueberry knows that the way of being kind and good can be an exhausting task, more so if not being ‘rewarded’ by the needed acknowledgment from the others. Selfish and abusive beings could easily take advantage from the ones trying to be friendly, and this was a constant pain in the path he vowed to live for, until the end of times. He would never allow himself to stray away from his pure ways of benevolence.

“I cannot allow you to pass through this point. Your actions are questionable, and could lead you to a bad road.”, he took a deep breath and glanced around without moving his head. Suddenly he felt without ground and extremely insecure, alone. How he missed his brother near him right now, even if just for a silent support. Closing his eyes momentarily, he shook his head to push away these sinking feelings. ‘No! I must do it! I must prove to them that I can make the human a good person that will help us to leave the underground! I must capture the human and show that I am capable of handling royal guard’s tasks!’. The skeleton steeled himself and pushed away the weight over his soul, trying to boost confident energy inside it. From this, the soul squeezed a long wave of adrenaline that provided him with the optimism he was needing the most. 

He must prove himself!

He would do it!

He needed to!

“Please, let me help you. You don’t need to feel scared. Fear can force us to do things we shouldn’t do. Bad things, terrible things! Even that we know that these things are wrong! Maybe you are just confused?”, he tried a friendly smile, easing his stance to become more vulnerable and friendly to the threatening child. “Come on. Drop the weapon and we can change all of this. I know you can do better! Much, much better!”. It is possible to disarm someone with gestures, and he would prove it one more time. This would not turn into a fight. Gestures of goodness should suffice to break the unpleasant circle of violence. 

The child looked around, the place deserted and carrying a smooth fog. The light from the day causing a vast whiteness that embraced them without a main source; the underground sure was a curious place.

Nobody was watching them. Nobody cared. Nobody would come. It was perfect.

Blueberry opened his arms in attempt to invite the human to approach and return his action. The sweet, wide smile displayed so much innocence and hope. Those big cerulean eyes shinning so expectantly. It was disgusting.

It was incomprehensible how someone could trust so much in strangers and expect the best of them, even after seeing the terrible things that were done. Those actions were conscious and not made by some impulsive force like the instincts of one trying to survive. The child did that on purpose! Delightfully conscious! But Blueberry chose to not believe in that. And this was HIS mistake.

He would _learn_ from his own mistakes now.

That you should not be naive and extend your arms to strangers.

Bloodthirsty strangers.

He will learn this in _horrendous pain_ before his l a s t b r e a t h !

.

.

.

“There you go! I knew you could do it!”, the small skeleton beamed, elated for the human’s sudden approach and tight embrace. He closed his arms around the child, soul swollen with great pride of his incredible achievement. It always worked! To break a cycle of terrible things with the display of authentic generosity! This feeling was so amazing, warming his soul in joyful levels of his grand success! He knew he could do it! He knew it was possible to capture the human without the use of force! Monsters will believe in his ways and befriend him for the big proof of his methods displayed right before them: a human being capable of compassion!

A quick slice ripped through his shirt. So sudden, a shocking pull from behind his neck and he would gasp in surprise for being grabbed by the bandanna and shoved away from the human. He dropped to the snowy ground over his back, the cold air grazing the now sliced shirt that revealed his intact ribs through the fabric’s gap. Looking up, an orange blur kept in front of him after a dry kick was impacted against the small human, pushing them away from the little skeleton.

“Papy!! What are you doing??”, the shock still didn’t catch up with the happenings of that brief moment. He grabbed over the white shirt, feeling the tear made by a blade and startled in horror. His soul pounded inside his chest now with a different rush of adrenaline. Blueberry shivered, assaulted by confusion and betrayal.

“Stay away from them, bro.”, Papyrus’ voice was deep and serious; hands clenched and cigarette abandoned on the ground, feet planted firmly over the blanket of snow. The human rose slowly after the kick, glaring at the tall skeleton with a mix of amusement and defiance. Chance missed. Maybe they could still play their way for a more entertaining end to this event? That made Papyrus grit his teeth tightly together, his aura flaring close to his bones in clear display of anger. 

The human almost killed his brother. That child. That little demon! They almost took him away from his life in mere seconds! The realization made his inner energy constrict and his soul spasmed in desperation. He looked behind him, seeing his little brother tightly holding the ruined shirt with such fearful, wide eyes. His tears… He could see those tears threatening to fall at any second now. And that twisted a knot inside his distressed soul. 

“You miserable brat. If you are capable of attacking my brother, you are not worth any sort of kindness.” He hissed, right eye sparking vibrant orange smoke. The aura around his body bled over the snow and rooted inside the ground, slowly ascending spikes of sharp bones. Those were fair warnings for the human to not approach. To not even dare think about anything towards any of them, especially the small Blueberry.

“I know that you have the knowledge of his HP. I know that you lured him to believe you could change. What sort of twisted being are you?” His stance kept prepared for anything, though the human kept just staring. “I learned that humans are bad, but not _this_ bad.” He would not take any chances with the kid, even that he felt his little sibling approaching by his back in timid steps. The air surrounding Blueberry screamed silently, the gloom swallowing the brightness of his joyful soul. That was infuriating for Papyrus. He would not allow anyone to hurt his sweet brother!

“I suggest that you leave, kid. I will not harm you, once you decide to stay away from here.” The bones kept pointedly over the thick snow, keeping their distance and forcing the human to not approach their position. A sarcastic smile spread on the child’s face, rosy cheeks and red eyes glinting violent promises for things to come. The blade was turned over their hand, playful, testing the skeleton’s attention to that flashy detail. 

Papyrus felt small hands holding the back of his hoodie, a gentle press of skull against his spine in trembling contact. “Please, Papy. Let them go… don’t hurt the human.” It was difficult to keep impassive with that whimpering plead coming from that voice. It was almost like a whisper, so tiny and hurt. So unlike him. So broken and defeated.

That horrible child…

“The kid won’t stop. They will keep hurting the others. … They…”, his voice faltered briefly. “They tried to murder you…” Those small hands squeezed slightly more, sobs so imperceptible but echoing inside Papyrus’ ears in endless reminding of burning pain. He could feel the proximity of his weeping soul trying to reach out, still pleading, still unsure, still crushed by the aggressive betrayal. He knew that the blade could have extinguished his single HP. And that also terrified not only him, but also Papyrus to no end.

The taller skeleton unconsciously rubbed the tip of his thumb against the small ring adorning his finger. Tender memories washed over his soul to be suddenly ripped away with an abyss of grief; if only he arrived a second too late. The realization kept crushing him, and he was so _glad_ he reached his brother in time. One arm moved back to touch the smaller’s arm, but gaze still firmly boring into the child’s eyes. They will not budge. Papyrus fidgeted again over the golden ring, seeking patience, seeking guidance from his mind, but his soul howled louder. All he wanted was to destroy that creature in front of him, so everybody would be safe. But they needed the soul. The entire kingdom depended on that soul. All the monsters craved to see the surface once again.

But for his little brother…

…he would sacrifice everything.

Even that it would be a selfish choice, almost losing him to that demon smashed a horrible truth about what kind of a life he would be living without his beautiful soulmate. They were finally together. They were finally happy in each other’s arms! And that child… dared… to almost destroy all his dreams that finally came true!

“Papy…”

His breath shook to the core, fist loosening from the increasing hatred so he could brush again the contact around the smooth ring. A gentle pull, and he looked back to his little sibling. He tried to smile a bit to ease the tension, to give him some sense of security. But it was so terribly difficult. He was more frightened than he wanted to admit. Scared to death of losing his sweet brother. But for his lover’s sake, Papyrus smiled. 

“I need you to call the guards, bro.”

“Huh?”

“I need you to call Alphys. She must know about the human.”, he looked back to the child that now started to move, kicking one of the bones that was leaving the ground and testing its consistency. That returned to unnerve Papyrus, starting to become frantic about his demands. “Please, Blueberry! You must warn everybody!”

“P..Papy… I..”

“I need you to go! Now!” He hated that, but it needed to be done. To shake his brother into action, he pushed his small body away from him. Blueberry stepped back, both hands enclosing against the chest, those tears finally spilling down.

“D..Don’t do this, Papy…!” The human started to advance between the sharp rows of bones, trying to take the tall skeleton by surprise during his emotional distraction. Papyrus turned his head fast to look back the human just in time to rise up another wall of bones to block the blade from making direct contact over his sternum. The orange barrier of bones repelled the human away in a hissing fit of burning effect, all his attention back to the offensive child.

“Stop!! You two must stop!” Another slice was made against the raw bones jutting from below, making the air snap dryly in dozens of flying splinters. Papyrus groaned and once again kept pushing the human with walls of bones and orange barriers. “I won’t kill them, bro. But for this, I need you to seek help from Alphys! I need you to do this!” Blueberry shook once he saw how vicious the human kept attacking the pillars of bones raised to stop their approach. 

“ _Please_ , Sans!!”

With a strangled cry, the smaller skeleton turned and ran.

 

.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the kudos! This keeps supporting me to continue the story!  
> I don't know if people enjoy more shorter chapters with more frequent updates, or longer chapters with slower updates =/  
> What would you choose? 
> 
> Thank you all, once again!

The blinds slammed against the window loudly, causing Blueberry to jump. He walked out from the kitchen, holding the plate which contained the sauce being prepared for the dinner. One violent gust of wind trembled the windows, announcing a blizzard for the next days. Leaving the plate over the green couch, the small skeleton hurried to close each window pane so the force outside wouldn’t cause any damage to the structures. Dense walls of moving air shocked against the house, making the roof complain in long howls. Lights flickered not just inside the cozy place but all through Snowdin at every blow. 

After certifying that every access was very well shut, Blueberry rushed to where he left his cellphone over the kitchen’s table, trying to contact his brother. He worried that the tall skeleton would be caught by the sudden storm, typing the number and waiting for him to answer. One thing was certain: Papyrus always carried his phone, no matter how distracted he appeared to be.

There was no answer. 

It was always very difficult for him to not worry, being so attentive at every minor detail from behaviors and routines. Since it was the end of the afternoon and his brother was certainly leaving his post, Blueberry believed that Papyrus went to Muffet’s for a snack. Perhaps he was caught by the beginnings of the storm and sought for shelter inside the Cafe until it eased enough to return home. As the phone continued to ring and no answers were returned, the small monster huffed in annoyance and concern, took back the plate from the couch and walked back to the kitchen to continue preparing the gravy. 

It always warmed his soul when he prepared food for them. Cutting the ingredients, mixing the sauces, heating the combined flavors. He enjoyed even more when his brother would appreciate the results, praising his cooking choices for the night’s meal.

Setting the spoon down, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment when thinking that Papyrus was possibly at Muffet’s enjoying her pastries instead of the dinner Blueberry spent his time making. It was not by obligation that he did it. He loved feeling how the food he prepared was well accepted and relished by his brother. How his lazy smile widened in content, the body stretching after eating more than he could manage. The excessive energy working inside his soul and bones, bringing warmth and drowsiness to a comfortable sort of satiated peace.

Papyrus was so beautiful when he smiled like that. For him. Because of what he did to bring them another source of proximity and connection. Because of his efforts into collecting every possible piece of his actions for another pleasant reunion.

He was being immature. He knew that he shouldn’t be allowing this sort of envy to play with his emotions. Papyrus was free to do whatever he pleased. Blueberry didn’t rule over Papyrus’ life choices. He wanted to be part of it, sure. He wanted to be the center of his brother’s world. But he knew it was very selfish of him to desire that.

Since Papyrus was happy, Blueberry would work into accepting the fact he was not the sole responsible for his brother’s well-being. And that fact caused the small skeleton to grimace in terrible sadness. 

The plate sat abandoned over the table as he took a seat to stare into emptiness. His small legs dangled a bit, gaze returning to the missed calls on the phone. Silent. Ignored.

It hurt.

Every time. Always when Papyrus wouldn’t arrive back home in time after his shift, Blueberry knew he was wasting time at the Cafe. If drinking, eating sweets, engaging in friendly conversations or flirting… Stars, he didn’t want to think much further into this. It would always spiral down into doubts and feed the anguish inside his tiny soul. 

However, his brother was probably surrounded by friends now, by cheerful laughter and comfortable warmth. While he remained at home, sulking and wanting to have his love returned to him, desperately. Not knowing how to achieve that, he always tried to keep diligently working to make their lives better and, in a certain way, promoting their closeness. Even if it was just by making dinner every single night so they could spend the time together in the same room.

He hated feeling alone. He hated the idea of being abandoned. Especially for “somebody better” that could bring his brother more joy than he did. Small tears collected at the corners of his eye sockets, forcing the small skeleton to brush the gloved hands over them and remove any trace of his repressed ache.

These doubts haunted him every instant he was feeling lonely. How he wished to be emotionally stronger to deal with things in a better way without dragging his self-value down, ending in depressive mood.

“I need to finish dinner. It won’t be wasted if stored in the fridge anyway.” He picked up the utensils to continue cooking, looking outside by the closed window. 

“He will come back again…”

Blueberry watched the masses of harsh snow dancing in abandonment under the nightfall. 

 

* * *

 

Papyrus was pushed awake by a particular gust of air that knocked him down from his Taco Stand. He fumbled and opened his eye sockets to take in the blizzard that arrived earlier than he had anticipated. The last time the blizzard happened, a couple of days later the human would arrive at their small town. That caused the skeleton to shiver and stand up with uneasiness. This was new. Or was he not paying enough attention on how time passed by until this specific event occurred? No, it couldn’t be. He was always extremely aware about when that awful child would arrive with the devastating results following its wake. It made him deeply sick.

Was it the storm or he really lost track of his power-nap? Everything was so dark already. Wind pushing trees to the sides in violent jabs at the treetops and creaking branches, while snowbanks shifted positions after the pushes swept the snow away from their previous spot. Reference points be damned; everything appeared to be redistributed in different places by the blizzard, changing the area he was so familiar about. 

Pulling himself together, Papyrus started to walk down the road he knew that would lead to Snowdin, noticing the typical sign post directing the surroundings missing. He tried to pull the hood over his head and hold it tight while trying to make some sense of what could be in front of him. The dense snow swarmed inside the chaotic wind, the small particles hitting his bones and blinding him insistently. Each small speck tried to enter his eye sockets, making it difficult for the tall skeleton to see anything from where he was going.

He covered what he could of his face, annoyed by the lack of visibility, his breath becoming heavier by all the stress and frustration. He barely could detect any light source coming from the town, which implied that it was still too far away.

Papyrus dragged his feet across the snow, sensing his energy twinge inside his bones each time another slap was made by the strong breeze, hitting mercilessly over the uncovered surfaces. Thoughts of looking for a temporary shelter by the trees crossed his mind. The noises all around him deafening and extremely disorienting. He approached some broken trees and carefully studied around them if he could remain protected between the fallen trunks without being smashed. Reassured by their disposition, Papyrus started to create an improvised roof made of bones, sticking them in a row along the fallen wood until they could remain firm into place.

Bringing some broken pieces of branches, amounts of leaves and bushes from nearby, he covered the ground where he would sit to prevent his bones to freeze up. He had no idea when the blizzard would die down, even with the memories of the past ones in every reset. Though this one was surprisingly abnormal. 

After getting comfortable the best he could in his messy refuge, Papyrus rubbed his arms and cleaned the excessive snow from his clothes. The solid coldness was pushed away from his bones, friction applied by phalanges in attempt to warm up the marrow inside. His energy retained good proportion of heat, easing all the involuntary shivers of his bones.

Papyrus started to get worried about his little brother now. Was he still in Hotland training with Alphys? Did he get the blizzard as well on his way home? What if he was in trouble and Papyrus was unable to reach him? Oh Stars. The panic started to rise tenfold inside his soul at the prospect of the petite skeleton being frozen to death. The smaller’s energy didn’t carry the same warmth Papyrus’ did. He recalled that the cyan soul was colder due to its essence of origin, unlike the orange one. Past resets of their lives together were more than enough to imprint these memories inside the taller’s core.

He made to get up, changing his mind about waiting for the snow to break a bit until his eyes caught some different movement from afar. It was so difficult to see, but he was sure that he saw something. Or rather someone.

“…a… y…rus..!”

Wait. Was that his brother? Why was he in here? He should be at Hotland! No, he should be home if returning from his training session!

“…le.. ase! …a..pyr..us!”

He could barely hear anything coherent in between the roars made by the wind and trees. Though he knew it was his name being called! That small monster moving with difficulty through the high snow continued his search restlessly. The small body was hunched over, getting farther from where Papyrus was hiding.

“Wait! Blueberry!”, he tried to call out, but his voice was hoarse by the chilling weather’s strikes. His legs trembled but he forced them to obey, crawling out from the shelter and fighting his way over the thick snow. Tripping and forcing himself to continue going, he pulled his feet from each buried deep step while panting in cold exhaustion. 

“…W.. re.. ar… you?”

Papyrus’ breath formed brief mists around his face, panting between grunts. The snow embraced half his legs, soft snowbanks still too recently formed becoming awful obstacles. He would not give up, nor slow down. He would not allow the escalating exhaustion to take over. The adrenaline inside his soul stirred the energy that burned and fueled his suffocating apprehension. The wind whipped sharp, eyes shutting in reflex, soon to be startled open by the fact his brother could disappear in a blink of an eye. 

The weight around his legs soothed. The ground was becoming flushed and easy to traverse. It just held around his ankles now, yet for his little brother it was still a challenge. Gladly, he appeared to be slowing down, pushing more strength to Papyrus’ legs. He was closer to him now. He could see the back of his white skull. Papyrus could call out now and Blueberry would certainly hear him.

Papyrus stopped.

His brother was on his knees, reaching for something inside the snow. What was that? It was impossible to see anything in that chaotic darkness. It was like his soul had stopped pulsing by a second when he could see better the monster before him. Some feet away from him, his brother pulled a long red scarf from the white blanket. 

The taller skeleton couldn’t move, confused by what he was seeing. There was something strange in the air around them. It felt tenuous and strangely quieter now, like if everything was changing its speed to a slower pace.

Sobs shook the smaller frame, trembling arms grasping tight around the swaying fabric at the wind. Each sound echoed in frightening clarity. Sparks of blue energy floated around the skeleton, sharp cracking noises coming from the uncontrolled agitation against his body. A distressed aura inflamed and died immediately, hiccuping painfully into activity and then defeat. 

The sobs broke into a piercing wail. Raw energy pushed the snow away in a wide blast of explosion, rising spikes of icy bones from the ground that would spread in a distant radius around the devastated figure. Papyrus jumped away from the jagged path of crystallized bones, sensing the freezing aura coming powerful in thundering waves.

With the area now alight in cyan energy, Papyrus could see that the small monster inside the crater of frozen bones was definitely not his brother. But how was that? The small skeleton was identical to his sibling! Though his clothes, that _terrifying_ power coming from that desolated soul… 

“WHY? Why this keeps happening? …Why can’t I save you from them…? Why….?” Small arms embraced the scarf against the chest, burying wet eye sockets over the soft fabric. His voice… his voice is deeper than Blueberry’s. But everything else looked just like him! What was going on?

He was afraid to approach the vulnerable monster. Even that the power radiating from him spoke anything but frailty at the moment. Those emotions flowed inside his energy, paralyzing the falling snowflakes and having the nearby trees becoming white after the initial shock wave. Papyrus believed that if he touched those trees they would crumble in shattered white pieces of ice. Even the bones leaving the ground had a different glassy appearance on them than simple blue magic. Icy crystals, humming keen and deadly, but so fragile.

Should he move? Should he say something? Everything around them seemed to stop moving or change its aspect due to the reactive power still strung deep from the other’s soul. Like paint that was splattered everywhere, hitting all the surfaces and punishing obstacles that dared to still keep standing. Small particles of energy floated like the fireflies in Waterfall, but they moved in an unsettling, eerie instability.

The slender skeleton approached cautiously, removing the hood from over his cranium and letting better visibility of his face for the other to see. His breath shook strangely. Why was he so nervous? There was something, a weird sensation he couldn’t put a finger on it. Feelings of asphyxiation and disorientation, similar to the beginning fractions of seconds when he teleported somewhere. Like they were in some sort of… void? He glanced around one more time, all the strange stillness and lack of density in the cold air. 

Memories of a laboratory.

Sterile smell.

Memories of another reset happening.

Falling… Falling…

The clutching darkness and the utter helplessness of unheard cries.

The sickening despair digging through his marrow and the suffocating guilt.

Screaming and screaming.

.  
.  
.

Not enough tears to demonstrate the crushing sorrow his soul was in. The loss, the emptiness, the loneliness and the end of every meaning. His soul was shredded into pieces, and he was the one to blame for it. He carried regrets, he carried great suffering; lost memories of far away realities that once were true. 

The ring… it is long gone. 

Bright and beautiful smiles at every morning. Starry and lovable eyes, the warmth of his caresses and soft embrace. Every greeting when he returned home and was welcomed in vast radiance by his beloved brother. He loved his sibling with a blinding passion. Much more than he should. Much more than he was allowed to. And every single time that he was taken away from him, Papyrus needed to rescue his brother’s adoration all over again. Not the usual adoration, but the breathtaking joy brought only by passion. 

His finger felt empty without the ring. A signal of his failure. A signal of another punishing restart. A permanent reminder of his inability to keep him safe. Alive.

“…Pap..?”

He snapped his eyes open and realized he was still standing in the clearing with his brother look-a-like. In instants he was on his knees, chest hurting in churning dizziness. Consciousness was by a thread of rupturing, but small hands held over his shoulders. The minor contact was electric, lighting minor sparks from the spot their surfaces brushed. The touch was shaky and kept him awake. As he felt the closeness to the little monster, he looked over every line of his expression and similar traits to his brother’s. It was clear for Papyrus that this skeleton carried some deep, heavy emotional baggage like himself. Deep and dark lines under his eye sockets due to great amounts of stress. Tired white eyes; scared, confused. His voice was low, lacking the explosive energy and optimism that Blueberry constantly kept beaming. 

“… S.. Sans?”

Those eyes widened and his pupils shrunk in surprise. Stars. So alike, and yet so different. 

The smaller grasped tight over Papyrus’ hoodie, weeping incoherently in wrecking sobs. Papyrus couldn’t help but return the embrace, slow and hesitant. He could empathize so much with the shaking monster in his arms, the trepidation in his voice displaying his vulnerability for such loss and turmoil. There was nothing he could say to calm down the crying one, like he believed anyone in his place would hardly do if he was the one breaking down. 

He let the other cry until he calmed down a bit. The scarf was still being held like dear lifeline.

“This is not real… You are not him…”, the smaller spoke dejectedly. “I.. I’m so sorry… I… …my brother…” Sobbing, he glanced into Papyrus’ eyes and a string of emotions between them could be understood without words explaining anything. Papyrus could feel himself crying as well, their energies sharing such extreme emotions of grief with nothing to cling on. But now it was different. 

This being in his arms appeared to be living an experience exactly like Papyrus have been going over and over again. And he could completely relate to it.

“No… No, I’m not him.”

He nodded, observing the other moving back, staying on his knees as well.

“Stars… You look just like him…”

Papyrus shivered, observing the longing in the other’s eyes. His gaze dropped to the crimson scarf, the hold still so very tight around it.

Memories of a blue bandanna on his hands…

…and dust…

Gasping, he clutched his chest as his soul gave a nasty sting. The small monster reached out, concerned, touching the taller’s shoulder once again. Searching eyes studied the slender skeleton’s features, gaze smart and sharp to details.

“You called my name”, he spoke softly. “Do you have a brother called Sans?” Papyrus sighed a deep breath, soul still constricted by unexplainable strain. Gathering enough courage once more to try again, he opened his mouth to speak and groaned. 

His head started to hurt. This was too confusing.

“Yes. I have a small brother named Sans. He is… very similar to you too.” 

They shared a small smile, heavy feelings lifted briefly for that moment. Papyrus gently touched the other’s skull in an instinctive pat like he would always do on his brother. He caught his actions a bit too late after he did that, stopping in minor shock just to have the other smiling back in understanding. Eyes so calm, even that you could clearly see the pain deep inside them.

“It is okay, Paps. Don’t worry.” His head lowered in returning sadness, causing Papyrus to shift in place. The silence felt like it was corroding inside his chest, stealing his air and all his effort to remain cool. His searching gaze kept landing over that red fabric, frenetic color changes between blue and crimson twisting inside his ribcage. 

Papyrus breathed in and out, reassuring his soul about the situation and that Blueberry was still alive. He needed to believe in that, for the sake of his sanity. At least, the remainings of it. Right now, it was like he was seeing himself in a different body. The defeated aura, the desperation, the frightening hopelessness.

Slowly, Papyrus reached out to hold the red scarf on the little one’s hands. Sans instinctively grasped tightly, just to be surprised by the calmness in this Papyrus’ features, reassuring and comforting. His gestures were languid as to not upset Sans, tenderly lifting the fabric and wrapping it around the blue skeleton’s neck. That caused Sans to release another pained sob.

“He will come back again. Don’t blame yourself, Sans.” Would you look at that? For real? He was being the most _hypocritical thing_ of all monsterkind now. It would be funny if not so tragic. Papyrus knew very well how _awful_ that pain was and how overwhelmingly disastrous it felt to have his life restarted to a point that all his efforts were rubbed into your face as totally useless and meaningless. Nobody would remember, nobody would know. And he would need to rebuild all his steps again and again.

And this Sans might had felt _exactly_ like that. 

The faint smile without any sort of warmth was returned just to confirm the blow given was acknowledged and stored for later remembrance. Papyrus felt so stupid he wanted to punch himself. That’s why he always kept quiet. He was awful into dealing with emotions and supportive roles. The sigh coming from the smaller was sympathetic, though. Perhaps he also lead the same sort of life style as Papyrus, since he continued to spot more adding similarities between themselves. 

Holding tight the scarf around the neck, Sans stood up and stuffed his hands inside the pockets of his blue jacket. He glanced away, keeping deep in thought for a while. It was not exactly a pleasant silence, but contemplative somehow. Papyrus let himself relax a bit, dropping his gaze to the ground.

“This blizzard is an anomaly”, Sans stated in a serious tone. “I believe it caused some temporal clash that opened a rift between our universes.” Papyrus looked up to him, eyes focusing and comprehending very well what the other was saying. So this Sans was into science like him too?

“A different timeline, huh? It kinda makes sense.” Papyrus chuckled humorless. It was Sans’ turn to display surprise now. This Papyrus clearly understood what he was referring to. It was a nice call, like he suspected it could work. 

“Would there be more? I mean, since you could reach where I am, would there be more of ‘us’ to be reachable by this rift?”

Sans listened, shifting in place while rummaging for some answers. Approaching one of the crystallized bones coming from the ground, he gazed the hundreds of facets the diamond looking bone presented. His reflection was multiplied everywhere. 

“It is possible. I just don’t know how yet.” He sighed. “These are just theories I have in mind. And to be truth, this is the only thing I can think about since all this situation was tossed to our faces.” He smiled sarcastically while shrugging, looking around them. Everything still appeared frozen in time, except them.

The small skeleton turned to look at the slender one, frowning before addressing again. “Say… have you ever encountered a human child?”

Papyrus’ mind just went haywire.


End file.
